QQCatalyst: renewal reminders for small agencies with Smartflows

At a three-person agency, renewal reminders often live in one CSR’s head. When she’s out, nobody knows what’s coming up. QQCatalyst can take that off a person’s memory. An Expiring Policy Smartflow sends a timed series of emails and creates tasks off each policy’s expiration date. The Expiring Policies module gives you one list to work from. This guide sets up both, plus the review step that keeps a CSR from sending pricing a producer hasn’t seen.

A note on the choice of system. I looked at both NowCerts and QQCatalyst for this guide. QQCatalyst (Vertafore) has a public, detailed help site. Most of NowCerts’ how-to material isn’t publicly indexed in a form I could verify, so I’ve written this one for QQCatalyst. NowCerts users can follow the same cadence, and should check the exact setup with NowCerts support.

What you need

QQCatalyst with Agency Intelligence (AI). Smartflows are part of the AI module. Vertafore’s help says AI is included with Q-Max and Plan 4 accounts, and costs extra on Q-Core, Q-Plus, Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plan 3. Ask your Vertafore rep for the add-on price.
A recent QQCatalyst version for the Expiring Policies module. Vertafore’s release notes introduced it in 5.1.20 (March 2025), with filters and exports added in 5.1.25.
Correct agent and CSR on each customer. Smartflow emails default to the assigned agent as sender, then the CSR, then the primary customer contact.
Customer email addresses on file, and for texting, recorded consent.

Step by step

1. Plan the reminder sequence before you open the editor

A Smartflow can hold up to 10 events (emails and tasks) over a timeline of up to 999 days. That’s plenty, but every event needs approving, so plan on paper first. A personal-lines sequence:

Days before expiration	Event	Who
60	Email: “Your renewal is coming up, has anything changed?”	Sent as agent
45	Task: check for reply, call if commercial or high premium	CSR
30	Task: review renewal offer, prepare client summary	Producer
21	Email: “Your renewal details are on the way”	Sent as agent
7	Task: confirm renewal or lapse with client	CSR

For commercial lines, Agency Performance Partners (a consultancy that publishes QQCatalyst training, not Vertafore) suggests starting the sequence 120 or 90 days before expiration. That fits the extra time remarketing takes.

Notice what’s not automated: the email with the actual renewal premium. That’s a task for a producer on day 30. An automated email can’t explain why the deductible changed, and that’s where E&O claims come from.

2. Write the emails as AI email templates

Smartflow emails use AI email templates. Vertafore’s tips:

Insert merge fields with the Merge Field toolbar option.
Styling only applies to a merge field if it’s applied to the whole paragraph.
Use tables if you want columns.

Vertafore’s template help lists policy merge fields such as Writing Carrier, Policy Number, Policy Premium, Effective Date and Expiration Date, and customer fields such as Customer First Name. That page is written for letter templates, so check the Merge Field list in the AI email editor for the exact names. I’d leave Policy Premium out of automated renewal reminders. The current premium isn’t the renewal premium, and quoting it invites confusion.

Day 60 email:

Subject: Your [Writing Carrier] policy renews on [Expiration Date]

Hi [Customer First Name],

Your policy [Policy Number] renews on [Expiration Date]. Before then, I want to make sure it still fits. Have you had any changes, like a new vehicle or driver, home renovations, or a move? A quick reply is all I need, even if it’s “no changes.”

[Agent name], [Agency], [phone]

Day 21 email:

Subject: Your renewal is almost here

Hi [Customer First Name], your policy renews on [Expiration Date]. We’re reviewing the renewal terms now and will send you the details shortly. If you have questions in the meantime, call us at [phone].

Both are informational emails to existing customers. For anything sales-related, such as a cross-sell, QQCatalyst requires checking Add unsubscribe link for sales emails. Keep cross-sell offers out of renewal reminders so the two don’t get mixed up.

Get a licensed producer to approve the wording of both templates once, and note the date you did.

3. Create the Expiring Policy Smartflow

Path: AI in the Global Navigation bar, then AI Overview > Create Smartflow. Choose Expiring Policy as the type, give it a name and description, and select the lines of business it covers. Build separate Smartflows for personal and commercial lines so the timing can differ.

In the Content section, events appear on a timeline in days, with a black diamond marking the trigger point (the expiration date). QQCatalyst suggests intervals, which you can change. Click Edit on each event to set the timing, the template and the From employee.

4. Exclude people already in another Smartflow

Use the exclusion fields In Active Smartflows and In Smartflow Type so a customer who’s already in, say, a Welcome Smartflow doesn’t get two sequences at once. A new client whose first renewal comes up quickly is exactly the person who’d otherwise get double emails.

5. Approve every event, then start

Events outlined in red haven’t been approved yet. Vertafore’s help is explicit that you can’t start the Smartflow until every email and task is approved. Open each one, check the wording and timing, approve it, then click Start on the toolbar. The Smartflow runs until it completes or you stop it.

Before running it on the whole book, start with one narrow line of business, such as renters or umbrella, and watch it for a week.

6. Work the list from the Expiring Policies module

Smartflows handle the reminders. People still have to do the renewal work. The Expiring Policies module lists upcoming expirations that you can sort and filter by expiration date. Vertafore’s release notes list batch actions including re-quoting, renewal reminders and creating follow-up tasks. Version 5.1.25 added Effective Date as a filter, a personal/commercial filter, and export of your configured columns.

A weekly routine: every Monday, filter to the next 45 days, sort by expiration, and batch-create follow-up tasks for anything with no recent note.

Pair it with the Renewal Adjustment widget, which Vertafore upgraded in 5.1.19 to filter by premium change and carrier. Large increases are the renewals that need a producer call, not a reminder email.

7. Let notes create tasks automatically

QQCatalyst creates a task automatically for some common actions. One of them is adding a note to a customer’s record. The Create Task box is checked by default, and the task is assigned to whoever is acting. When a CSR logs “Client says no changes, waiting on carrier renewal,” they can set the task to the producer for day 30 right there. Leave that box on.

8. Texting, carefully

QQCatalyst’s text messaging is set up per location: your name > Preferences > Location Preferences > Apps > Text Messaging > Edit. After you save, you get an assigned number, which Vertafore says must be registered with Twilio. Texts go to one customer at a time. Group texting isn’t supported, so there’s no mass renewal text blast.

Only text customers who’ve agreed to texts, and keep renewal texts informational: “Your renewal details are in your email.” Under the TCPA, a “stop” reply means stop, and it has to be honored within 10 business days at most.

Common mistakes

Automating the price email. The renewal offer should always go through a producer.
One Smartflow for every line. Commercial needs a 90- to 120-day start. Renters doesn’t.
Forgetting exclusions, so new clients get welcome and renewal emails in the same week.
Starting before testing. Run it on a small line of business first.
Wrong agent or CSR on the customer, so emails come from someone who left last year.

When it’s worth getting help

If you’re on Q-Max or Plan 4, everything here is already paid for and mostly a matter of setup. If you’re on a lower plan, it’s worth pricing the AI add-on against the time your team spends on manual reminders. The cost calculator gives a rough way to compare. For how I approach renewal automation across agency systems, see the insurance page.